13th club for a long hitter

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

The 56 is such a great and versatile club for me, I feel ditching it would be abandoning the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality, so I'm just trying to add something else that would compliment it for tighter/closer shots.

Then I would find a 60 or 62 that's a similar wedge (manufacturer, model, grind, etc.). If that's a Vokey and you want mid bounce, I think the 60-10 would be perfect as is, or bent to 62-12.

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

Then I would find a 60 or 62 that's a similar wedge (manufacturer, model, grind, etc.). If that's a Vokey and you want mid bounce, I think the 60-10 would be perfect as is, or bent to 62-12.

I'll probably just go with a 60-10 and see how that works out, and then later if I want more loft I can always bend it.  I just really don't want to buy a $100 club that I wind up not using, or deciding it's 2 degrees too much/little.

I guess down the road I may bend the 56 to 55 and leave the 60 as is, that way I have a smooth 5 degree gap up from the UW (50 degrees).  Thanks for your comments.  You were about the only person that actually answered my question

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

Thanks for your comments.  You were about the only person that actually answered my question

No problem. We have a tendency to get off on a tangent at times.

Originally Posted by tuffluck

I'll probably just go with a 60-10 and see how that works out, and then later if I want more loft I can always bend it.  I just really don't want to buy a $100 club that I wind up not using, or deciding it's 2 degrees too much/little.

That's a good route. However, if you live near an Edwin Watts, Golf Galaxy, Golfsmith, any other large golf store, look at their used inventory. Even it's it a different brand, you might be able to find a good option for $40 instead of $100+.

[Golfingdad]

On behalf of myself and at least 5 others, I say to you,

Originally Posted by tuffluck

... Thanks for your comments.  You were about the only person that actually answered my question

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ......

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

I think it makes sense to go ahead and get a lob wedge.  Personally, I think 62 is bit a much - based on your sand wedge being 56, I'd probably go with 60 - but whatever you feel fills that last gap is your best bet.  My sand wedge is 54.5 and my lob is 59.  (Designed such that the gaps from 9 iron to the end are all 4.5 degrees.)

Originally Posted by Meddle

I have some buddies who are long hitters that carry 50, 54 and 58. I always thought 58* was more practical than 60* for full swing shots because you don't sky it quite as much which helps control distance into the green.

Originally Posted by Dave2512

I've used three different setups this year and my wedge selection was based less on how far I hit my driver than what I needed to fill specific gaps. My largest gaps are on the long side of the bag because those clubs get me to where the shorter clubs make a difference. After I bought my current iron set, with 44* PW, which I use like a 9i, I went to a 48/10-52/10-56/14-60/12 wedge set.

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

Lob wedge is the way to go.

Originally Posted by Lihu

...you should get professionally fitted. I don't know how much you can get from the internet.

Originally Posted by mdl

That said, I'm a huge fan of the LW.  I played 2h, 3i-PW, 54˚ SW for a long time, and both my 60-80 yard shots and my green side shots improved dramatically when I got my 60˚.  It's low bounce, but I don't really find it a problem.  It means I don't feel super comfortable using it out of the sand much, but except in really hard bunkers I'm comfortable opening my higher bounce 54˚ up more and just pounding the sand hard to get more height.

What?????????????????

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

On behalf of myself and at least 5 others, I say to you,

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ......

What?????????????????

Seems like several of you wanted to debunk my playing style first, offer answers to the question second.  I stopped reading before I got to the advice part; thanks for the cliff notes

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

I stopped reading before I got to the advice part

I'll try to remember that next time you ask for our help. ;)

[Lihu]

I think there's a lot of good advice on this site. It seems that your "...tee it forward thread" might have turned you off to some people. I noticed that you have shaved 10 strokes from your game playing with your methods. It's great that it works for you. I hope to read more posts from you.

[mdl]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

Seems like several of you wanted to debunk my playing style first, offer answers to the question second.  I stopped reading before I got to the advice part; thanks for the cliff notes

The whole setup of your question was centered around your current swing and distances.  We weren't trying to debunk your playing style.  Some other pretty long amateurs who play moderately to significantly better than you were just trying to be helpful and point out that your distances and HC make it extremely likely that you're swinging too hard, meaning the distances you think you need to center your club selection around might not really be the distances you want to center your club selection around.

I can count on one hand the people I've played with who hit the ball as far as you claim and who aren't costing themselves 5-10 strokes per round swinging too hard and killing their accuracy.

That said, I'll second my rec for the 60˚.  Even with that club most of the time I don't want to use it for a full swing.  It just skies the ball so much, hard to control distance, unpredictable, sometimes extreme roll back, and super sensitive to the wind.  A 62˚ could only be worse in those categories with a full swing, though I've never played one.

[Lihu]

Originally Posted by mdl

The whole setup of your question was centered around your current swing and distances.  We weren't trying to debunk your playing style.  Some other pretty long amateurs who play moderately to significantly better than you were just trying to be helpful and point out that your distances and HC make it extremely likely that you're swinging too hard, meaning the distances you think you need to center your club selection around might not really be the distances you want to center your club selection around.

I can count on one hand the people I've played with who hit the ball as far as you claim and who aren't costing themselves 5-10 strokes per round swinging too hard and killing their accuracy.

That said, I'll second my rec for the 60˚.  Even with that club most of the time I don't want to use it for a full swing.  It just skies the ball so much, hard to control distance, unpredictable, sometimes extreme roll back, and super sensitive to the wind.  A 62˚ could only be worse in those categories with a full swing, though I've never played one.

BTW, MDL is also really a long hitter, and he manages to keep his drives on the fairway or close to it.

In addition to this, if you get professionally fitted, a good club fitter will determine if you are swinging too hard or not. You will end up swinging with a whole lot less effort with much better results.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

I really don't think I swing too hard. Plus, the numbers make sense if you start with a 4i @ 220 and work your way back ~10y per club...5i 210, 6i 200, 7i 190, 8i 180, 9i 170, PW 160, UW 150, 54 130, 56 120, etc.

The 56 is such a great and versatile club for me, I feel ditching it would be abandoning the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality, so I'm just trying to add something else that would compliment it for tighter/closer shots.

The "-10 yards per club" methodology is not an accurate set-in-stone standard though. I also hit my 4i right around 220, however my remaining yardages are as follows:

4i ~220, 5i 205-210, 6i 185, 7i 170, 8i 160, 9i 150, PW 140, GW 120, 54° 100, 58° 80, 60° 60

For the gaps between, I primarily club down and choke down to achieve a distance gap. If I need 130 yards, I'm not swinging for the fences with my GW, but I will choke down or take some steam off of my PW to get there.

The distances I posted are my ideal, in the fairway, clean shots that I average. Certainly, we all catch one further from time to time, but these are the distances I have in my mind when I'm determining my next shot in my typical round.

To answer your question about wedges though, I added my 60° last week and love it. Some think it's pointless with a 58 in the bag, but it fits my game and longer than average distances.

[bplewis24]

I'm going to subscribe to this thread, hoping that it eventually goes where I believe it should.  After all, the clever guise of the topic warrants it ;-)

[inthecup]

I would likely add a 60 degree with a lot of bounce if you are looking to add a stick.  Real handy in traps and within 30 feet of the green for soft landing touch shots.  I also use it for partial shots for short distances like less than 30 yards.

But, I would work on a repeatable partial swing.  I don't know how far I hit my 56 or 60 because I don't take full swings with them.  I do have what I think of as a half swing, its not really a half swing I feel like my arms parallel to the ground and it is less "wristy" almost dead handed.  Know how far your 60, 56, UW, PW, 9i go with this swing.   I am excited when I get to a comfortable half swing distance on the course because I am deadly with it.  It is a lower flight, controlled spin shot.  The ball is usually a couple feet from the pitch mark.  With a 52 degree full swing the spin might pull the ball back several feet.  Instead of hitting a full 56 degree try a half a pitching wedge, much more controllable.  A scalpel not sledge hammer.

Good luck.

By the way what changes did you make to increase the distance that dramatically?

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by inthecup

I would likely add a 60 degree with a lot of bounce if you are looking to add a stick.  Real handy in traps and within 30 feet of the green for soft landing touch shots.  I also use it for partial shots for short distances like less than 30 yards.

But, I would work on a repeatable partial swing.  I don't know how far I hit my 56 or 60 because I don't take full swings with them.  I do have what I think of as a half swing, its not really a half swing I feel like my arms parallel to the ground and it is less "wristy" almost dead handed.  Know how far your 60, 56, UW, PW, 9i go with this swing.   I am excited when I get to a comfortable half swing distance on the course because I am deadly with it.  It is a lower flight, controlled spin shot.  The ball is usually a couple feet from the pitch mark.  With a 52 degree full swing the spin might pull the ball back several feet.  Instead of hitting a full 56 degree try a half a pitching wedge, much more controllable.  A scalpel not sledge hammer.

Good luck.

By the way what changes did you make to increase the distance that dramatically?

Stopped casting my wrists and swinging over the top.  That also helped me control my momentum going into the downswing.  The draw from swinging in to out now helps a bit as well.  I didn't know I had these problems until I video'd myself after my slicing troubles began.  I took a lesson and the instructor was so awful he actually made it worse.  I just watched hours of youtube videos before I finally found a few drills that got me going in the right direction, and the rest of the work was just done by practicing on the range.

[Lihu]

Stopped casting my wrists and swinging over the top.  That also helped me control my momentum going into the downswing.  The draw from swinging in to out now helps a bit as well.  I didn't know I had these problems until I video'd myself after my slicing troubles began.  I took a lesson and the instructor was so awful he actually made it worse.  I just watched hours of youtube videos before I finally found a few drills that got me going in the right direction, and the rest of the work was just done by practicing on the range.

I made and am making these changes, and have made direct ion and distance strides in the last month or so. Amazing what these changes can do for you. Thanks for sharing.

[tuffluck]

Thanks for the recommendations, I picked up an open box 60-10 SM4 today for $75.

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

Thanks for the recommendations, I picked up an open box 60-10 SM4 today for $75.

Should be perfect. Let us know how it works out for you.

[tuffluck]

Played with it this weekend...honestly except for flop shots, it did not perform much differently than my 56.  Does that sound right?  Even full shots were going only marginally less distance.  At this point I'm sort of leaning towards bending it to 62, unless I really should only be using the club in the flop type situations.

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

Played with it this weekend...honestly except for flop shots, it did not perform much differently than my 56.  Does that sound right?  Even full shots were going only marginally less distance.  At this point I'm sort of leaning towards bending it to 62, unless I really should only be using the club in the flop type situations.

If you feel like it's not fitting the niche that you need it to, feel free to bend it to 62. Keep in mind that it will also change the bounce angle. In this case, it will increase it about 2*.

The largest difference that I notice between my 56* and 60* is the amount of spin that I'm able to generate on less than full shots.